Making it easier for cities to share smart city data

A new initiative in the US brings together local government and industry to collaborate on data sharing and other challenges related to smart city projects.

Conceived by smart city accelerator US Ignite and the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS), the initiative aims to create a ‘blueprint’ for the secure and interoperable exchange of data beyond city operational boundaries. Cities and municipalities of all sizes are invited to participate.

Many smart cities applications require sophisticated data collection devices that can process and deliver real-time data from sensors, vehicles and IoT-enabled infrastructure. A wide range of data management platforms are used to help analyse and apply this data.

For cities to be able to benefit from the next generation of enhanced applications leveraging real-time data and creating a vibrant data ecosystem, the data they collect must be shared in an interoperable and secure way with other cities, adjacent communities, government agencies, trusted partners, citizens and application developers, US Ignite explained.

“Effective sharing of smart cities data can be a great equaliser for communities of different sizes, demographics, income levels and geography,” said ATIS president and CEO Susan Miller.

“Sharing data is how smart communities will continue to grow, improving economic development and quality of life,” added Nick Maynard, chief strategy officer of US Ignite. “But we can only achieve that reality by collaborating on issues of technology, security, privacy and usability.”

Through the initiative, ATIS and US Ignite hope to bring together resources and best practices, define technical standards, and consolidate data sharing efforts already underway.

Participants will lay a foundation for the development of a data-exchange specification to meet interoperability concerns, including a data-sharing framework, data formats and protocols, security and privacy requirements and common APIs.